Simon's bookshelf: all en-US Wed, 11 Jun 2025 22:21:12 -0700 60 Simon's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg The Undead: Part 7 29805772
When Marcy realises the infection can cure diseases, and realising she can be strong and good, she decides to head to the fort to hand herself in to be examined, too. Howie is only partially convinced of her good intent, and, despite their hatred of one another, there is an undeniably strong connection between them.

Meanwhile, inmates inside a prison start killing each other, and Fletcher, an ex-power-lifter, is turned, becoming the most evil undead yet known.]]> R.R. Haywood Simon 0 currently-reading 4.52 The Undead: Part 7
author: R.R. Haywood
name: Simon
average rating: 4.52
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/06/11
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]]> The Undead: Part 6 29805771
The dog becomes an expert hunter of the undead. A survivor reaches the fort and tells of the dog’s immunity. Howie and his group head to the town where the dog was last seen. A battle ensues.]]> 0 R.R. Haywood 1531822118 Simon 3 4.52 2013 The Undead: Part 6
author: R.R. Haywood
name: Simon
average rating: 4.52
book published: 2013
rating: 3
read at: 2025/06/11
date added: 2025/06/11
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]]> The Undead: Part 5 29805770
When a horde of undead attack the children, Howie tries to save them only to find they turn on him. Eventually a truce is called, and an uneasy alliance begins to develop.]]> 0 R.R. Haywood Simon 4 4.36 The Undead: Part 5
author: R.R. Haywood
name: Simon
average rating: 4.36
book published:
rating: 4
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date added: 2025/06/11
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]]> Of Mice and Men 890 “I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that's why.�

They are an unlikely pair: George is "small and quick and dark of face"; Lennie, a man of tremendous size, has the mind of a young child. Yet they have formed a "family," clinging together in the face of loneliness and alienation. Laborers in California's dusty vegetable fields, they hustle work when they can, living a hand-to-mouth existence. But George and Lennie have a plan: to own an acre of land and a shack they can call their own.

While the powerlessness of the laboring class is a recurring theme in Steinbeck's work of the late 1930s, he narrowed his focus when composing Of Mice and Men, creating an intimate portrait of two men facing a world marked by petty tyranny, misunderstanding, jealousy, and callousness. But though the scope is narrow, the theme is universal: a friendship and a shared dream that makes an individual's existence meaningful.

A unique perspective on life's hardships, this story has achieved the status of timeless classic due to its remarkable success as a novel, a Broadway play, and three acclaimed films.]]> 107 John Steinbeck 0142000671 Simon 5 currently-reading 3.88 1937 Of Mice and Men
author: John Steinbeck
name: Simon
average rating: 3.88
book published: 1937
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/10
date added: 2025/06/11
shelves: currently-reading
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]]> The Undead: Part 4 27392779 R.R. Haywood Simon 3 4.34 The Undead: Part 4
author: R.R. Haywood
name: Simon
average rating: 4.34
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2025/06/11
date added: 2025/06/11
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]]> <![CDATA[Good Girl, Bad Blood (A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, #2)]]> 51335759
With the help of Ravi Singh, she released a true-crime podcast about the murder case they solved together last year. The podcast has gone viral, yet Pip insists her investigating days are behind her.

But she will have to break that promise when someone she knows goes missing. Jamie Reynolds has disappeared, on the very same night the town hosted a memorial for the sixth-year anniversary of the deaths of Andie Bell and Sal Singh.

The police won't do anything about it. And if they won't look for Jamie then Pip will, uncovering more of her town's dark secrets along the way... and this time everyone is listening. But will she find him before it's too late?]]> 413 Holly Jackson 1405297751 Simon 4 4.26 2020 Good Girl, Bad Blood (A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, #2)
author: Holly Jackson
name: Simon
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2025/06/05
date added: 2025/06/05
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[Who Let the Gods Out? (Who Let the Gods Out?, #1)]]> 32735550 368 Maz Evans 1910655414 Simon 3 4.03 2014 Who Let the Gods Out? (Who Let the Gods Out?, #1)
author: Maz Evans
name: Simon
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2014
rating: 3
read at: 2025/05/23
date added: 2025/05/23
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]]> <![CDATA[Angels & Demons (Robert Langdon, #1)]]> 998881
A devastating new weapon of destruction.
When world-renowned Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned to a Swiss research facility to analyze a mysterious symbol -- seared into the chest of a murdered physicist -- he discovers evidence of the unimaginable: the resurgence of an ancient secret brotherhood known as the Illuminati...the most powerful underground organization ever to walk the earth. The Illuminati has now surfaced to carry out the final phase of its legendary vendetta against its most hated enemy -- the Catholic Church.

Langdon's worst fears are confirmed on the eve of the Vatican's holy conclave, when a messenger of the Illuminati announces they have hidden an unstoppable time bomb at the very heart of Vatican City. With the countdown under way, Langdon jets to Rome to join forces with Vittoria Vetra, a beautiful and mysterious Italian scientist, to assist the Vatican in a desperate bid for survival.
Embarking on a frantic hunt through sealed crypts, dangerous catacombs, deserted cathedrals, and even the most secretive vault on earth, Langdon and Vetra follow a 400-year-old trail of ancient symbols that snakes across Rome toward the long-forgotten Illuminati lair...a clandestine location that contains the only hope for Vatican salvation.

An explosive international thriller, Angels & Demons careens from enlightening epiphanies to dark truths as the battle between science and religion turns to war.]]> 768 Dan Brown 0739326759 Simon 0 3.73 2000 Angels & Demons (Robert Langdon, #1)
author: Dan Brown
name: Simon
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2000
rating: 0
read at: 2010/05/17
date added: 2025/05/16
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]]> In Black and White 53107876
Alexandra is 25, mixed-race and from Essex. As a trainee criminal barrister, she finds herself navigating a world and a set of rules designed by a privileged few. This is her story.

We follow Alexandra through a criminal justice system still divided by race and class. We hear about the life-changing events that motivated her to practice criminal law, beginning with the murder of a close family friend and her own experiences of knife crime. She shows us how it feels to defend someone who hates the colour of your skin or someone you suspect is guilty, and the heart-breaking cases of youth justice she has worked on. We see what it's like for the teenagers coerced into county line drug deals and the damage that can be caused when we criminalise teenagers.

Her story is unique in a profession still dominated by a privileged section of society with little first-hand experience of the devastating impact of violent crime.]]> 288 Alexandra Wilson 1913068285 Simon 3 4.16 2020 In Black and White
author: Alexandra Wilson
name: Simon
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2025/05/13
date added: 2025/05/13
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]]> <![CDATA[Hardest Geezer: Mind over Miles]]> 214494010
Through attempted kidnaps, an armed robbery where he was held at gunpoint, and the gut-wrenching moment when he was denied the right to cross Algeria and whole challenge was left hanging in the balance, Russ never once contemplated giving up. When he crossed the finish line in Ras Angela, he did so with the eyes of the world on him.

Africa may have been his most physical challenge yet but it certainly wasn’t his first. For years, Russ hid from the realities of life by drinking too much and losing himself in the world of online gambling, and it wasn’t until he discovered running and sought out endurance challenges that life took a different turn. He soon learned that you don’t get to avoid the struggle, but you do get to choose it.]]> 291 Russ Cook 1529945941 Simon 3 4.30 Hardest Geezer: Mind over Miles
author: Russ Cook
name: Simon
average rating: 4.30
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2025/05/05
date added: 2025/05/05
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]]> Flight Into Hell 6913996 Carl Harrison-Ford 085902234X Simon 0 to-read 3.20 Flight Into Hell
author: Carl Harrison-Ford
name: Simon
average rating: 3.20
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/05/05
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]]> <![CDATA[The Terrible Fate of Humpty Dumpty (Dramascripts)]]> 7719740 82 David Calcutt 0174325541 Simon 4 currently-reading 3.36 1986 The Terrible Fate of Humpty Dumpty (Dramascripts)
author: David Calcutt
name: Simon
average rating: 3.36
book published: 1986
rating: 4
read at: 2023/03/23
date added: 2025/05/01
shelves: currently-reading
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]]> The Undead Day Five 15937006 I will tell you what happened.

On Friday the world fell apart. A zombie infestation has ravaged Europe. Howie was at home and quickly had to learn to fight and survive in this new world as he battled through hordes of undead, desperately trying to reach his family...The Undead Day One.

On Saturday he went back to his town but an undead stripper and her psychotic boyfriend awaited him. Then he met Dave and everything changed as they went to war on the undead...The Undead Day Two.

On Sunday, Howie and Dave have to travel across country still searching for Howie’s family. Their travels bring them into contact with many strange people as they battle with zombies and other survivors...The Undead Day Three.

Monday. Day Four. Howie and Dave have to battle their way out of the police station and make a disturbing discovery. They finally reach Salisbury Army Training Centre and find a massive army of undead soldier zombies, new recruits, an arrogant and cowardly officer and more battles. Meanwhile the infection is learning to control new species…The Undead Day Four.

Tuesday, Day Five. Howie, Dave and the teenage army recruits drive the Armoured Personnel Carrier through villages, killing every horde they find. The infection evolves and learns more skills and starts to target Howie and his group of resistors. Introducing Sarah, Howie’s sister at home in her apartment in London. Fighting to survive with any method available. Howie and his group find a fuel station when things go horribly, horribly wrong…The Undead Day Five.

Wednesday, Day Six. Howie, Dave and their group travel to London to find Sarah, Howie’s sister. Meeting more wonderful and strange characters on the way. They find another commune led by the enigmatic Big Chris which lead to an amazing adventure. The infection continues to evolve in a shocking twist. The zombies get faster, meaner and tougher and the battles more intense as they fight to survive. The tragedy strikes�. The Undead Day Six]]> 115 R.R. Haywood Simon 3 4.42 2012 The Undead Day Five
author: R.R. Haywood
name: Simon
average rating: 4.42
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at: 2025/05/01
date added: 2025/05/01
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]]> Millions 309773
A funny, brilliantly clever and utterly thrilling debut novel that is, quite simply, unforgettable.]]> 272 Frank Cottrell Boyce 0060733322 Simon 3
Two brothers find a lot of money. Should they keep it or hand it in? The dilemma doesn’t last long.

Mormons who lie that it is their money and a number of other spoiler related things that happen all just add up to make this a book I just found pretty boring.

Not for me I am afraid. I wouldn’t recommend.]]> 3.63 2004 Millions
author: Frank Cottrell Boyce
name: Simon
average rating: 3.63
book published: 2004
rating: 3
read at: 2025/04/27
date added: 2025/04/27
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There are a lot of fantastic reviews of Millions. I just don’t get them. We read this as a class reader and then I went back to re-read it to see if I have missed the mark.

Two brothers find a lot of money. Should they keep it or hand it in? The dilemma doesn’t last long.

Mormons who lie that it is their money and a number of other spoiler related things that happen all just add up to make this a book I just found pretty boring.

Not for me I am afraid. I wouldn’t recommend.
]]> <![CDATA[Sunrise on the Reaping (The Hunger Games, #0.5)]]> 214331246 When you’ve been set up to lose everything you love, what is there left to fight for?

As the day dawns on the fiftieth annual Hunger Games, fear grips the districts of Panem. This year, in honor of the Quarter Quell, twice as many tributes will be taken from their homes.

Back in District 12, Haymitch Abernathy is trying not to think too hard about his chances. All he cares about is making it through the day and being with the girl he loves.

When Haymitch’s name is called, he can feel all his dreams break. He’s torn from his family and his love, shuttled to the Capitol with the three other District 12 tributes: a young friend who’s nearly a sister to him, a compulsive oddsmaker, and the most stuck-up girl in town. As the Games begin, Haymitch understands he’s been set up to fail. But there’s something in him that wants to fight . . . and have that fight reverberate far beyond the deadly arena.]]> 387 Suzanne Collins 1546171460 Simon 3 4.56 2025 Sunrise on the Reaping (The Hunger Games, #0.5)
author: Suzanne Collins
name: Simon
average rating: 4.56
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/04/27
date added: 2025/04/27
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]]> The First Year 231249141 474 Matt Goodfellow 1915659922 Simon 0 to-read 4.60 The First Year
author: Matt Goodfellow
name: Simon
average rating: 4.60
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rating: 0
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date added: 2025/04/16
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]]> The Final Year 178811246 288 Matt Goodfellow 1915659043 Simon 4 4.62 The Final Year
author: Matt Goodfellow
name: Simon
average rating: 4.62
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/16
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]]> Animal Farm 7613
When Animal Farm was first published, Stalinist Russia was seen as its target. Today it is devastatingly clear that wherever and whenever freedom is attacked, under whatever banner, the cutting clarity and savage comedy of George Orwell’s masterpiece have a meaning and message still ferociously fresh.]]> 129 George Orwell Simon 4 3.90 1945 Animal Farm
author: George Orwell
name: Simon
average rating: 3.90
book published: 1945
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/05
date added: 2025/04/05
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]]> Until I Kill You 215504123 Soon to be an ITV drama starring Anna Maxwell Martin. Previously published as Living with a Serial Killer.

When Delia Balmer entered into a relationship with the attentive John Sweeney, she had no idea he was a serial killer.

At first he was caring but over the course of their relationship he became violent and controlling. On more than one occasion he held Delia hostage and tortured her. Chillingly, he also confessed to the murder of his previous girlfriend. After one serious assault, Sweeney was released on bail, and left her in the utmost fear knowing that he would return to finish her off. After a final frenzied attack leaving Delia on the brink of death, Sweeney went on the run. Astonishingly, it would take the police six years to capture and convict Sweeney of multiple murders.

This is her compelling memoir.]]> 329 Delia Balmer 1529933978 Simon 4 3.94 Until I Kill You
author: Delia Balmer
name: Simon
average rating: 3.94
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/05
date added: 2025/04/05
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]]> Planet of the Apes 414895
With these words, Pierre Boulle hurtles the reader onto the Planet of the Apes. In this simian world, civilization is turned upside down: apes are men and men are apes; apes rule and men run wild; apes think, speak, produce, wear clothes, and men are speechless, naked, exhibited at fairs, used for biological research. On the planet of the apes, man, having reached to apotheosis of his genius, has become inert.
To this planet come a journalist and a scientist. The scientist is put into a zoo, the journalist into a laboratory. Only the journalist retains the spiritual strength and creative intelligence to try to save himself, to fight the appalling scourge, to remain a man.
Out of this situation, Pierre Boulle has woven a tale as harrowing, bizarre, and meaningful as any in the brilliant roster of this master storyteller. With his customary wit, irony, and disciplined intellect and style, the author of The Bridge Over the River Kwai tells a swiftly moving story dealing with man's conflicts, and takes the reader into a suspenseful and strangely fascinating orbit.]]> 276 Pierre Boulle 0345447980 Simon 4 3.96 1963 Planet of the Apes
author: Pierre Boulle
name: Simon
average rating: 3.96
book published: 1963
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/30
date added: 2025/03/30
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]]> Tyger 60574832 304 S.F. Said Simon 4 4.12 2022 Tyger
author: S.F. Said
name: Simon
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/26
date added: 2025/03/26
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]]> <![CDATA[Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood]]> 29780253
Trevor Noah’s unlikely path from apartheid South Africa to the desk of The Daily Show began with a criminal act: his birth. Trevor was born to a white Swiss father and a black Xhosa mother at a time when such a union was punishable by five years in prison. Living proof of his parents� indiscretion, Trevor was kept mostly indoors for the earliest years of his life, bound by the extreme and often absurd measures his mother took to hide him from a government that could, at any moment, steal him away. Finally liberated by the end of South Africa’s tyrannical white rule, Trevor and his mother set forth on a grand adventure, living openly and freely and embracing the opportunities won by a centuries-long struggle.

Born a Crime is the story of a mischievous young boy who grows into a restless young man as he struggles to find himself in a world where he was never supposed to exist. It is also the story of that young man’s relationship with his fearless, rebellious, and fervently religious mother—his teammate, a woman determined to save her son from the cycle of poverty, violence, and abuse that would ultimately threaten her own life.]]> 289 Trevor Noah 0385689225 Simon 3 4.48 2016 Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood
author: Trevor Noah
name: Simon
average rating: 4.48
book published: 2016
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/26
date added: 2025/03/26
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]]> Upstanding Young Man 221473787
Meg Hart has taken great pains to create her perfect All-American family. It looks effortless, but that’s because she’s been smart about it.

However, on a brisk spring morning weeks before his graduation, her son McClane goes missing. And as the investigation deepens, the police zero in on her as their perfect suspect. Tragedy has struck this family before, and all signs suggest that she is the source. Add in her elusive husband’s strange behavior and inconsistencies in her story, it becomes clear that she has plenty to hide.

Before he disappears, it turns out McClane has secrets of his own: a pregnant girlfriend, a shocking truth about his wrestling career, and a chilling discovery—the person he trusts most has betrayed him in the worst way.

Alternating between Meg’s perspective in the initial days of the investigation and McClane’s in the hours leading up to his disappearance, Upstanding Young Man is packed with relentless tension and short, fast-paced chapters that will keep readers up all night.]]> 432 Sharon Doering 1368113796 Simon 0 to-read 5.00 Upstanding Young Man
author: Sharon Doering
name: Simon
average rating: 5.00
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/03/19
shelves: to-read
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]]> Greenlights 54950597 From the Academy Award®-winning actor, an unconventional memoir filled with raucous stories, outlaw wisdom, and lessons learned the hard way about living with greater satisfaction.I've been in this life for fifty years, been trying to work out its riddle for forty-two, and been keeping diaries of clues to that riddle for the last thirty-five. Notes about successes and failures, joys and sorrows, things that made me marvel, and things that made me laugh out loud. How to be fair. How to have less stress. How to have fun. How to hurt people less. How to get hurt less. How to be a good man. How to have meaning in life. How to be more me.Recently, I worked up the courage to sit down with those diaries. I found stories I experienced, lessons I learned and forgot, poems, prayers, prescriptions, beliefs about what matters, some great photographs, and a whole bunch of bumper stickers. I found a reliable theme, an approach to living that gave me more satisfaction, at the time, and If you know how, and when, to deal with life's challenges - how to get relative with the inevitable - you can enjoy a state of success I call 'catching greenlights.'So I took a one-way ticket to the desert and wrote this an album, a record, a story of my life so far. This is fifty years of my sights and seens, felts and figured-outs, cools and shamefuls. Graces, truths, and beauties of brutality. Getting away withs, getting caughts, and getting wets while trying to dance between the raindrops.Hopefully, it's medicine that tastes good, a couple of aspirin instead of the infirmary, a spaceship to Mars without needing your pilot's license, going to church without having to be born again, and laughing through the tears.It's a love letter. To life.It's also a guide to catching more greenlights-and to realising that the yellows and reds eventually turn green too. Good luck.]]> 386 Matthew McConaughey 1472280857 Simon 3 4.26 2020 Greenlights
author: Matthew McConaughey
name: Simon
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/19
date added: 2025/03/19
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]]> Glasgow Boys 197635571
Neither Finlay or Banjo can remember the last time they had a hug.

Against all odds, 18-year-old Finlay has begun his nursing degree at Glasgow University. But coming straight from the care system means he has no support network. How can he write essays, focus on his nursing placement and stop himself from falling in love when he's struggling to feed himself? Meanwhile, 17-year-old Banjo is trying to settle into his new foster family and finish high school, desperate to hold down his job and the people it contains. But his anger and fear keep boiling over, threatening his already uncertain future.

Underpinning everything is what happened three years ago in their group care home, when Finlay and Banjo were as close as brothers until they stopped speaking. If these boys want to keep hold of the people they love, they have to be able to forgive one another. More than this, they must find a way to forgive themselves.]]> 350 Margaret McDonald 0571382975 Simon 0 to-read 4.34 Glasgow Boys
author: Margaret McDonald
name: Simon
average rating: 4.34
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/03/18
shelves: to-read
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]]> Twelve Years a Slave 18478222 363 Solomon Northup 0989794806 Simon 4 4.21 1853 Twelve Years a Slave
author: Solomon Northup
name: Simon
average rating: 4.21
book published: 1853
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/13
date added: 2025/03/13
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]]> Eat, Slay, Love 217111860 International bestselling author Julie Mae Cohen returns with a delicious new novel about three very different women and what unites the man they’re holding hostage

Making new friends can be murder...

Marina gave up her career as a chef to raise her children, but her divorce has left her harried, lonely, and the black sheep of her family. It’s also left her in dire financial straits.

Opal is a post-menopausal fitness guru who spends her days chasing likes and followers in an industry that worships youth. Even her glossy online persona can’t mask her checkered past.

Lilah is a shy and optimistic librarian who spends her days tending to the stacks, until she wins an unbelievable sum in the lottery. With a growing bank account and a dashing fiancé, life seems too good to be true—and it just might be.

These three women have nothing in common except for one the man who’s been lying to them all . . . and who they are now holding hostage in Marina’s basement. As this shared secret brings them closer together, other, deadlier problems come crashing into their lives. Can they put their differences aside to save themselves—and each other?

Eat, Slay, Love is a raucous novel about friendship, finding joy, and becoming your best self, even if that sometimes involves kidnap and murder.]]> 320 Julie Mae Cohen 141977235X Simon 3 3.68 2025 Eat, Slay, Love
author: Julie Mae Cohen
name: Simon
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/09
date added: 2025/03/09
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]]> The Shawshank Redemption 9836767
Suspenseful, mysterious, and heart-wrenching, Stephen King’s extraordinary novella, populated by a cast of unforgettable characters, tells a powerful tale of crushing despair and liberating hope through the eyes of Ellis “Red� Redding. Red’s a guy who can get you whatever you want here in Maine’s corrupt and hard-edged Shawshank State Penitentiary (for a price, of course), but the one thing he doesn’t count on is an unexpected friendship forged with fellow inmate Andy Dufresne—an inscrutable one-time banker perhaps falsely convicted of brutal, calculated murder who will go on to transform everyone’s lives within these prison walls.

Originally published in the 1982 collection Different Seasons, it was adapted into the 1994 film The Shawshank Redemption starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman. Nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, this modern classic has become one of the most beloved films of all time. A mesmerizing work of unjust imprisonment and strangely satisfying revenge, Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption remains one of Stephen King’s most beloved and iconic stories.]]> 4 Stephen King 1101010991 Simon 5 4.38 1982 The Shawshank Redemption
author: Stephen King
name: Simon
average rating: 4.38
book published: 1982
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/02
date added: 2025/03/02
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]]> The Valley of Lost Secrets 55516084
When Jimmy is evacuated to a small village in Wales, it couldn't be more different from London. Green, quiet and full of strangers, he instantly feels out of place.

But then he finds a skull hidden in a tree, and suddenly the valley is more frightening than the war. Who can Jimmy trust? His brother is too little; his best friend has changed.

Finding an ally in someone he never expects, they set out together to uncover the secrets that lie with the skull. What they discover will change Jimmy � and the village � forever.

A mesmerising mystery about bravery and brotherhood from an outstanding new voice.]]> 304 Lesley Parr 1526620529 Simon 4 4.33 2021 The Valley of Lost Secrets
author: Lesley Parr
name: Simon
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/02
date added: 2025/03/02
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]]> <![CDATA[Everything Happens for a Reason: My Life in Rugby]]> 216360781 An honest, end-of-career autobiography from widely adored Harlequins and England rugby star Danny Care

They say everything happens for a reason, and I think my life is proof of that. There have been a series of moments, some of them tough setbacks, that have proved over time to be pivotal to the person � and player � I am today. There was the time when my dreams of a football career came to an abrupt end but opened the door for rugby in my life; the ill-judged sledging outing that may have cost me the opportunity to go on a Lions tour; the times when my name made the headlines for the wrong reasons; the choice I made to miss an England tour, which led to meeting the love of my life on a party island halfway across the world; and the devastating moment when Eddie Jones dropped me from the England squad and I thought my international career was over.

I sometimes wondered if it was meant to be but I kept on smiling and I worked hard as I kept my focus on playing the game that I love, that I owe everything to. And now, a little older and a little wiser � and with over 100 England caps, three Six Nations championships and two Premiership titles to my name, I want to tell you my story. The highs and lows, the good and the bad and everything in between.]]> 301 Danny Care 1529946174 Simon 4 4.29 Everything Happens for a Reason: My Life in Rugby
author: Danny Care
name: Simon
average rating: 4.29
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/27
date added: 2025/02/27
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]]> <![CDATA[The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (The Hunger Games, #0)]]> 51901147 Ambition will fuel him.

Competition will drive him.

But power has its price.

It is the morning of the reaping that will kick off the tenth annual Hunger Games. In the Capitol, eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow is preparing for his one shot at glory as a mentor in the Games. The once-mighty house of Snow has fallen on hard times, its fate hanging on the slender chance that Coriolanus will be able to outcharm, outwit, and outmaneuver his fellow students to mentor the winning tribute.

The odds are against him. He's been given the humiliating assignment of mentoring the female tribute from District 12, the lowest of the low. Their fates are now completely intertwined -- every choice Coriolanus makes could lead to favor or failure, triumph or ruin. Inside the arena, it will be a fight to the death. Outside the arena, Coriolanus starts to feel for his doomed tribute... and must weigh his need to follow the rules against his desire to survive no matter what it takes.]]> 541 Suzanne Collins Simon 3 3.99 2020 The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (The Hunger Games, #0)
author: Suzanne Collins
name: Simon
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/26
date added: 2025/02/26
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]]> HappyHead (HappyHead, #1) 62881326
Friends, here is the good news: HappyHead has the answer.

 When Seb is offered a place on a radical retreat designed to solve the national crisis of teenage unhappiness, he is determined to change how people see him and make his parents proud. But as he finds himself drawn to the enigmatic Finn, Seb starts to question the true nature of the challenges they must undergo. The deeper into the programme the boys get, the more disturbing the assessments become, until it’s clear there may be no escape...]]> 383 Josh Silver 0861545532 Simon 3 4.00 2023 HappyHead (HappyHead, #1)
author: Josh Silver
name: Simon
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/13
date added: 2025/02/13
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Wild Robot (The Wild Robot, #1)]]> 26030734
When robot Roz opens her eyes for the first time, she discovers that she is all alone on a remote, wild island. She has no idea how she got there or what her purpose is—but she knows she needs to survive. After battling a violent storm and escaping a vicious bear attack, she realizes that her only hope for survival is to adapt to her surroundings and learn from the island's unwelcoming animal inhabitants.

As Roz slowly befriends the animals, the island starts to feel like home—until, one day, the robot's mysterious past comes back to haunt her.

From bestselling and award-winning author and illustrator Peter Brown comes a heartwarming and action-packed novel about what happens when nature and technology collide.]]> 282 Peter Brown 0316381993 Simon 4 4.19 2016 The Wild Robot (The Wild Robot, #1)
author: Peter Brown
name: Simon
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/05
date added: 2025/02/05
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]]> Intermezzo 208931300 An exquisitely moving story about grief, love, and family—but especially love—from the global phenomenon Sally Rooney.

Aside from the fact that they are brothers, Peter and Ivan Koubek seem to have little in common.

Peter is a Dublin lawyer in his thirties—successful, competent, and apparently unassailable. But in the wake of their father’s death, he’s medicating himself to sleep and struggling to manage his relationships with two very different women—his enduring first love, Sylvia, and Naomi, a college student for whom life is one long joke.

Ivan is a twenty-two-year-old competitive chess player. He has always seen himself as socially awkward, a loner, the antithesis of his glib elder brother. Now, in the early weeks of his bereavement, Ivan meets Margaret, an older woman emerging from her own turbulent past, and their lives become rapidly and intensely intertwined.

For two grieving brothers and the people they love, this is a new interlude—a period of desire, despair, and possibility; a chance to find out how much one life might hold inside itself without breaking.]]> 454 Sally Rooney 0374602638 Simon 2 3.85 2024 Intermezzo
author: Sally Rooney
name: Simon
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2024
rating: 2
read at: 2025/02/04
date added: 2025/02/04
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]]> Black Queen (Young Corgi) 2447791 96 Michael Morpurgo 0552546453 Simon 2 3.89 2000 Black Queen (Young Corgi)
author: Michael Morpurgo
name: Simon
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2000
rating: 2
read at: 2025/02/02
date added: 2025/02/02
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Reappearance of Rachel Price]]> 182484360
Lights. Camera. Lies.

18-year-old Bel has lived her whole life in the shadow of her mom’s mysterious disappearance. Sixteen years ago, Rachel Price vanished and young Bel was the only witness, but she has no memory of it. Rachel is gone, long presumed dead, and Bel wishes everyone would just move on.

But the case is dragged up from the past when the Price family agree to a true crime documentary. Bel can’t wait for filming to end, for life to go back to normal. And then the impossible happens. Rachel Price reappears, and life will never be normal again.

Rachel has an unbelievable story about what happened to her. Unbelievable, because Bel isn’t sure it’s real. If Rachel is lying, then where has she been all this time? And � could she be dangerous? With the cameras still rolling, Bel must uncover the truth about her mother, and find out why Rachel Price really came back from the dead . . .

From world-renowned author Holly Jackson comes a mind-blowing masterpiece about one girl’s search for the truth, and the terror in finding out who your family really is.]]> 438 Holly Jackson 0593374207 Simon 4 4.09 2024 The Reappearance of Rachel Price
author: Holly Jackson
name: Simon
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/02
date added: 2025/02/02
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]]> Throwing the Book 199615911 320 Wayne Barnes 1408719533 Simon 4 4.20 Throwing the Book
author: Wayne Barnes
name: Simon
average rating: 4.20
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/16
date added: 2025/01/16
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]]> <![CDATA[The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me]]> 6694 Who needs a ladder when you’ve got a giraffe with an extended neck?

The Ladderless Window-Cleaning Company certainly doesn't. They don’t need a pail, either, because they have a pelican with a bucket-sized beak. With a monkey to do the washing and Billy as their manager, this business is destined for success. Now they have their big break—a chance to clean all 677 windows of the Hampshire House, owned by the richest man in all of England! That’s exciting enough, but along the way there are surprises and adventures beyond their wildest window-washing dreams.

Billy's biggest wish is to turn a weird old wooden house into a wonderful sweet shop. But then he finds a giraffe, a pelly and a monkey living inside - Now they're the Ladderless Window Cleaning Company! They become best friends, and now that they have a promising job to carrout out, there's a chance that Billy's scrumptious, galumptious dream just might come true...

Roald Dahl, is the brilliant and worldwide acclaimed author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, and many more timeless classics for children. Besides keeping millions of readers entertained for years, these delightfully disturbing tales have recently been turned into hit films, helping to continue to make millions of children & adults alike shiver with his unique stories.]]> 32 Roald Dahl 0140568190 Simon 4 3.83 1985 The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me
author: Roald Dahl
name: Simon
average rating: 3.83
book published: 1985
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/16
date added: 2025/01/16
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]]> Artemis 34928122
Well, sort of. Life on Artemis, the first and only city on the moon, is tough if you're not a rich tourist or an eccentric billionaire. So smuggling in the occasional harmless bit of contraband barely counts, right? Not when you've got debts to pay and your job as a porter barely covers the rent.

Everything changes when Jazz sees the chance to commit the perfect crime, with a reward too lucrative to turn down. But pulling off the impossible is just the start of her problems, as she learns that she's stepped square into a conspiracy for control of Artemis itself—and that now, her only chance at survival lies in a gambit even riskier than the first.]]> 305 Andy Weir 0553448129 Simon 0 to-read 3.65 2017 Artemis
author: Andy Weir
name: Simon
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/14
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[I’m Not as Well as I Thought I Was]]> 61941239
I'm Not as Well as I Thought I Was is Ruby's most honest, rawest book to date - an insight into the depths of her psyche, and a stark exploration of what trauma can do to someone. Reflecting on years of personal and professional experience, she opens up to readers about her struggles with mental health and different treatments over the years, hoping to provide reassurance and guidance to anyone confronting their own anticipated, or unanticipated, struggles with mental health.]]> 256 Ruby Wax 0241554896 Simon 2 3.59 I’m Not as Well as I Thought I Was
author: Ruby Wax
name: Simon
average rating: 3.59
book published:
rating: 2
read at: 2025/01/14
date added: 2025/01/14
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]]> The Life Impossible 198281740
“What looks like magic is simply a part of life we don’t understand yet…�

When retired math teacher Grace Winters is left a run-down house on a Mediterranean island by a long-lost friend, curiosity gets the better of her. She arrives in Ibiza with a one-way ticket, no guidebook and no plan.

Among the rugged hills and golden beaches of the island, Grace searches for answers about her friend’s life, and how it ended. What she uncovers is stranger than she could have dreamed. But to dive into this impossible truth, Grace must first come to terms with her past.

Filled with wonder and wild adventure, this is a story of hope and the life-changing power of a new beginning.]]> 324 Matt Haig 0593489276 Simon 3 3.45 2024 The Life Impossible
author: Matt Haig
name: Simon
average rating: 3.45
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/10
date added: 2025/01/10
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]]> The Witches 6327 Note: This edition shares ISBN 0590032496 with another edition.

This is not a fairy-tale. This is about real witches. Real witches don't ride around on broomsticks. They don't even wear black cloaks and hats. They are vile, cunning, detestable creatures who disguise themselves as nice, ordinary ladies. So how can you tell when you're face to face with one? Well, if you don't know yet you'd better find out quickly-because there's nothing a witch loathes quite as much as children and she'll wield all kinds of terrifying powers to get rid of them.]]> 208 Roald Dahl 0590032496 Simon 5 4.18 1981 The Witches
author: Roald Dahl
name: Simon
average rating: 4.18
book published: 1981
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/09
date added: 2025/01/09
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]]> Wool - Holston (Wool, #1) 12287209
Or you'll get what you wish for.]]> 56 Hugh Howey Simon 5 4.14 2012 Wool - Holston (Wool, #1)
author: Hugh Howey
name: Simon
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2012
rating: 5
read at: 2013/12/13
date added: 2025/01/09
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]]> Face 451066 "Kids will tune in to this book's clear message about appearances." -- Publishers Weekly
"A worthy subject that should give kids plenty to think about." - Kirkus Reviews
"This book will not only be enjoyed by teen readers for its entertaining story, but also for its statement about prejudice. Zephaniah is not just telling a story of a brave and inspiring young man, he is also teaching readers an important lesson through the voice of Martin." - VOYA
Also available in hardcover
1-58234-774-3 $15.95
About the author
Benjamin Zephaniah is a British performance poet who travels on literary world tours for the British Council. He is the author of a number of acclaimed novels for young adults, including Refugee Boy and the upcoming Gangsta Rap. He lives in England. Visit his Web site at .]]> 208 Benjamin Zephaniah 1582349215 Simon 3
A great young adult addition. I would recommend.]]> 3.47 1999 Face
author: Benjamin Zephaniah
name: Simon
average rating: 3.47
book published: 1999
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/21
date added: 2024/12/21
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Enjoyed this from Benjamin Zephaniah. Having been through a similar event, I found his research into the burns and the explanation of the feelings and emotions to be brilliant.

A great young adult addition. I would recommend.
]]> <![CDATA[The Hawthorne Legacy (The Inheritance Games, #2)]]> 50531218 Intrigue, riches, and romance abound in this thrilling sequel to the New York Times bestselling The Inheritance Games perfect for fans of Karen McManus and Holly Jackson.

The Inheritance Games ended with a bombshell, and now heiress Avery Grambs has to pick up the pieces and find the man who might hold the answers to all of her questions - including why Tobias Hawthorne left his entire fortune to Avery, a virtual stranger, rather than to his own daughters or grandsons.

Thanks to a DNA test, Avery knows that she's not a Hawthorne by blood, but clues pile up hinting at a deeper connection to the family than she had ever imagined. As the mystery grows and the plot thickens, Grayson and Jameson, the enigmatic and magnetic Hawthorne grandsons, continue to pull Avery in different directions. And there are threats lurking around every corner, as adversaries emerge who will stop at nothing to see Avery out of the picture - by any means necessary.

With nonstop action, aspirational jet-setting, family intrigue, swoonworthy romance, and billions of dollars hanging in the balance, The Hawthorne Legacy will thrill Jennifer Lynn Barnes fans and new readers alike.]]> 380 Jennifer Lynn Barnes 0241480744 Simon 4 4.19 2021 The Hawthorne Legacy (The Inheritance Games, #2)
author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes
name: Simon
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/21
date added: 2024/12/21
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]]> <![CDATA[The Inheritance Games (The Inheritance Games, #1)]]> 52439531
To receive her inheritance, Avery must move into sprawling, secret passage-filled Hawthorne House, where every room bears the old man's touch -- and his love of puzzles, riddles, and codes. Unfortunately for Avery, Hawthorne House is also occupied by the family that Tobias Hawthorne just dispossessed. This includes the four Hawthorne grandsons: dangerous, magnetic, brilliant boys who grew up with every expectation that one day, they would inherit billions. Heir apparent Grayson Hawthorne is convinced that Avery must be a conwoman, and he's determined to take her down. His brother, Jameson, views her as their grandfather's last hurrah: a twisted riddle, a puzzle to be solved. Caught in a world of wealth and privilege, with danger around every turn, Avery will have to play the game herself just to survive.]]> 386 Jennifer Lynn Barnes 1368052401 Simon 4 4.13 2020 The Inheritance Games (The Inheritance Games, #1)
author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes
name: Simon
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/26
date added: 2024/11/26
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]]> Good Material 96177628
Now he is. . .

Without a home

Waiting for his stand-up career to take off

Wondering why everyone else around him seems to have grown up while he wasn't looking

Set adrift on the sea of heartbreak, Andy clings to the idea of solving the puzzle of his ruined relationship. Because if he can find the answer to that, then maybe Jen can find her way back to him. But Andy still has a lot to learn, not least his ex-girlfriend's side of the story�

In this sharply funny and exquisitely relatable story of romantic disaster and friendship, Dolly Alderton offers up a love story with two endings, demonstrating once again why she is one of the most exciting writers today, and the true voice of a generation.]]> 342 Dolly Alderton 0241523664 Simon 4 4.08 2023 Good Material
author: Dolly Alderton
name: Simon
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/26
date added: 2024/11/26
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]]> The Odyssey 59093588 From the prize-winning author of Supper Club comes a wickedly funny and slyly poignant new satire on modern life. For fans of Sally Rooney, Ottessa Moshfegh, and Convenience Store Woman.

Ingrid works on a gargantuan luxury cruise liner where she spends her days reorganizing the gift shop shelves and waiting for long-term guests to drop dead in the aisles. On her days off, she disembarks from the ship, wasting the hours aimlessly following tourists around, drinking the local alcohol, and buying clothes she never intends to wear again. It's not a bad life. At least, it distracts her from thinking about the other life--the other person--she left behind five years ago.

That is, until the day she is selected by the ship's enigmatic captain and�(ill-informed) wabi sabi devotee, Keith, for his mentorship program. Encouraging her to reflect on past mistakes and her desperation to remain lost at sea, Keith pushes Ingrid further than she ever thought possible. But as her friendships and professional life onboard steadily fall apart, Ingrid must ask herself: how do you know when you have gone too far?

Utterly original, mischievous, and thought-provoking, The Odyssey is a merciless takedown of consumer capitalism and our anxious, ill-fated quests to find something to believe in. It's a voyage that will lead our heroine all the way home, though she will do almost anything to avoid getting there.]]> 240 Lara Williams 1638930066 Simon 3 3.07 2022 The Odyssey
author: Lara Williams
name: Simon
average rating: 3.07
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2024/11/13
date added: 2024/11/13
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]]> Champion (Legend, #3) 18291576 483 Marie Lu 1410462021 Simon 3 4.22 2013 Champion (Legend, #3)
author: Marie Lu
name: Simon
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2013
rating: 3
read at: 2024/11/08
date added: 2024/11/08
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]]> <![CDATA[Madhouse: The naked truth about my chaotic childhood, losing my mind and finding a place to call home]]> 199597479 320 PJ Gallagher 1844885976 Simon 3 4.12 Madhouse: The naked truth about my chaotic childhood, losing my mind and finding a place to call home
author: PJ Gallagher
name: Simon
average rating: 4.12
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2024/11/04
date added: 2024/11/04
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]]> Hello Mum 7806231 96 Bernardine Evaristo 0141044381 Simon 4 3.61 2010 Hello Mum
author: Bernardine Evaristo
name: Simon
average rating: 3.61
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/21
date added: 2024/10/21
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Things My Son Needs to Know About the World]]> 42833687 Things My Son Needs to Know About the World collects the personal dispatches from the front lines of one of the most daunting experiences any man can experience: fatherhood.

As he conveys his profound awe at experiencing all the "firsts" that fill him with wonder and catch him completely unprepared, Fredrik Backman doesn't shy away from revealing his own false steps and fatherly flaws, tackling issues both great and small, from masculinity and mid-life crises to practical jokes and poop.

In between the sleep-deprived lows and wonderful highs, Backman takes a step back to share the true story of falling in love with a woman who is his complete opposite, and learning to live a life that revolves around the people you care about unconditionally. Alternating between humorous side notes and longer essays offering his son advice as he grows up and ventures out into the world, Backman relays the big and small lessons in life, including:

-How to find the team you belong to
-Why airports explain everything about religion and war
-The reason starting a band is crucial to cultivating and keeping friendships
-How to beat Monkey Island 3
-Why, sometimes, a dad might hold onto his son's hand just a little too tight.

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove shares an irresistible and moving collection of heartfelt, fictional, humorous essays about fatherhood, providing his newborn son with the perspective and tools he'll need to make his way in the world. ]]> 208 Fredrik Backman 1501196863 Simon 5 4.00 2012 Things My Son Needs to Know About the World
author: Fredrik Backman
name: Simon
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2012
rating: 5
read at: 2024/10/18
date added: 2024/10/18
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]]> <![CDATA[And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer]]> 31373633 A little book with a big heart!

From the New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove, My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry, and Britt-Marie Was Here comes an exquisitely moving portrait of an elderly man’s struggle to hold on to his most precious memories, and his family’s efforts to care for him even as they must find a way to let go.

With all the same charm of his bestselling full-length novels, here Fredrik Backman once again reveals his unrivaled understanding of human nature and deep compassion for people in difficult circumstances. This is a tiny gem with a message you’ll treasure for a lifetime.]]> 97 Fredrik Backman 1501160575 Simon 3 4.34 2015 And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer
author: Fredrik Backman
name: Simon
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2015
rating: 3
read at: 2024/10/18
date added: 2024/10/18
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]]> <![CDATA[Embracing Hope: On Freedom, Responsibility & the Meaning of Life]]> 198919205
From the bestselling author of Man's Search for Meaning , which has sold over 16 million copies

From the international bestselling author of Man’s Search for Meaning and Yes to Life in Spite of Everything comes a new collection of four previously unpublished works that expound on Frankl’s themes of finding purpose and meaning, with a focus on individual and collective responsibility.

This inspiring work is divided into four distinct parts, each offering a unique perspective on Frankl's timeless themes. Part 1, based on a 1955 article published in a medical journal is about the “collective neurosis� that Frankl believed took hold in the West after World War II, leading to a sense of emptiness in society. Part 2 is the transcript of a 1977 television interview where Frankl shares that to achieve a sense of meaning in life, individuals should primarily focus on others. Part 3 is based on a 1946 lecture where Frankl examines the relationship between freedom and responsibility in the search for a meaningful existence. Part 4 is based on lecture given in 1984 where Frankl brings his ideas through the decades together and expands on the idea of personal responsibility.

Published here for the first time in the United States, On Meaning, Freedom, Responsibility continues Frankl’s enduring life’s work and provides further lessons for those searching for meaning and purpose. Whether you're a devoted follower of Frankl's work or a newcomer seeking to enrich your understanding of life's purpose, this book promises a captivating journey that will leave you pondering its teachings long after you've turned the final page.]]> 160 Viktor E. Frankl 0807020435 Simon 3 3.81 Embracing Hope: On Freedom, Responsibility & the Meaning of Life
author: Viktor E. Frankl
name: Simon
average rating: 3.81
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2024/10/17
date added: 2024/10/17
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]]> Tell Me Lies 36373408 Tell Me Lies is about that one person who still haunts you—the other one. The wrong one. The one you couldn’t let go of. The one you’ll never forget.

Lucy Albright is far from her Long Island upbringing when she arrives on the campus of her small California college, and happy to be hundreds of miles from her mother, whom she’s never forgiven for an act of betrayal in her early teen years. Quickly grasping at her fresh start, Lucy embraces college life and all it has to offer—new friends, wild parties, stimulating classes. And then she meets Stephen DeMarco. Charming. Attractive. Complicated. Devastating.

Confident and cocksure, Stephen sees something in Lucy that no one else has, and she’s quickly seduced by this vision of herself, and the sense of possibility that his attention brings her. Meanwhile, Stephen is determined to forget an incident buried in his past that, if exposed, could ruin him, and his single-minded drive for success extends to winning, and keeping, Lucy’s heart.

Alternating between Lucy’s and Stephen’s voices, Tell Me Lies follows their connection through college and post-college life in New York City. Deep down, Lucy knows she has to acknowledge the truth about Stephen. But before she can free herself from this addicting entanglement, she must confront and heal her relationship with her mother—or risk losing herself in a delusion about what it truly means to love.

With the psychological insight and biting wit of Luckiest Girl Alive, and the yearning ambitions and desires of Sweetbitter, this keenly intelligent and staggeringly resonant novel chronicles the exhilaration and dilemmas of young adulthood, and the difficulty of letting go, even when you know you should.]]> 384 Carola Lovering 1501169645 Simon 0 to-read 3.43 2018 Tell Me Lies
author: Carola Lovering
name: Simon
average rating: 3.43
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/16
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland]]> 40163119
Patrick Radden Keefe's mesmerizing book on the bitter conflict in Northern Ireland and its aftermath uses the McConville case as a starting point for the tale of a society wracked by a violent guerrilla war, a war whose consequences have never been reckoned with. The brutal violence seared not only people like the McConville children, but also I.R.A. members embittered by a peace that fell far short of the goal of a united Ireland, and left them wondering whether the killings they committed were not justified acts of war, but simple murders.

Patrick Radden Keefe writes an intricate narrative about a notorious killing in Northern Ireland and its devastating repercussions.]]> 441 Patrick Radden Keefe 0385521316 Simon 0 to-read 4.47 2018 Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland
author: Patrick Radden Keefe
name: Simon
average rating: 4.47
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/16
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[Spook Street (Slough House, #4)]]> 30282181
But River has other things to worry about. A bomb goes off in the middle of a busy shopping center and kills forty innocent civilians. The agents of Slough House have to figure out who is behind this act of terror before the situation escalates.]]> 307 Mick Herron Simon 0 to-read 4.36 2017 Spook Street (Slough House, #4)
author: Mick Herron
name: Simon
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/16
shelves: to-read
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]]> Lady in the Lake 42519229 The revered New York Times bestselling author returns with a novel set in 1960s Baltimore that combines modern psychological insights with elements of classic noir, about a middle-aged housewife turned aspiring reporter who pursues the murder of a forgotten young woman.

In 1966, Baltimore is a city of secrets that everyone seems to know—everyone, that is, except Madeline “Maddie� Schwartz. Last year, she was a happy, even pampered housewife. This year, she’s bolted from her marriage of almost twenty years, determined to make good on her youthful ambitions to live a passionate, meaningful life.

Maddie wants to matter, to leave her mark on a swiftly changing world. Drawing on her own secrets, she helps Baltimore police find a murdered girl—assistance that leads to a job at the city’s afternoon newspaper, the Star. Working at the newspaper offers Maddie the opportunity to make her name, and she has found just the story to do it: Cleo Sherwood, a missing woman whose body was discovered in the fountain of a city park lake.

If Cleo were white, every reporter in Baltimore would be clamoring to tell her story. Instead, her mysterious death receives only cursory mention in the daily newspapers, and no one cares when Maddie starts poking around in a young Black woman's life—except for Cleo's ghost, who is determined to keep her secrets and her dignity. Cleo scolds the ambitious Maddie: You're interested in my death, not my life. They're not the same thing.

Maddie’s investigation brings her into contact with people that used to be on the periphery of her life—a jewelry store clerk, a waitress, a rising star on the Baltimore Orioles, a patrol cop, a hardened female reporter, a lonely man in a movie theater. But for all her ambition and drive, Maddie often fails to see the people right in front of her. Her inability to look beyond her own needs will lead to tragedy and turmoil for all sorts of people—including Ferdie, the man who shares her bed, a police officer who is risking far more than Maddie can understand.]]> 340 Laura Lippman 0062390015 Simon 0 to-read 3.52 2019 Lady in the Lake
author: Laura Lippman
name: Simon
average rating: 3.52
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/16
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]]> <![CDATA[The Talented Mr. Ripley (Ripley, #1)]]> 2247142
It’s here, in the first volume of Patricia Highsmith’s five-book Ripley series, that we are introduced to the suave Tom Ripley, a young striver seeking to leave behind his past as an orphan bullied for being a “sissy.� Newly arrived in the heady world of Manhattan, Ripley meets a wealthy industrialist who hires him to bring his playboy son, Dickie Greenleaf, back from gallivanting in Italy. Soon Ripley’s fascination with Dickie’s debonair lifestyle turns obsessive as he finds himself enraged by Dickie’s ambivalent affections for Marge, a charming American dilettante, and Ripley begins a deadly game.

“Sinister and strangely alluring,� (Mark Harris, Entertainment Weekly) The Talented Mr. Ripley serves as an unforgettable introduction to this smooth confidence man, whose talent for self-invention is as unnerving—and unnervingly revealing of the American psyche—as ever.]]> 271 Patricia Highsmith Simon 0 to-read 3.95 1955 The Talented Mr. Ripley (Ripley, #1)
author: Patricia Highsmith
name: Simon
average rating: 3.95
book published: 1955
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/10/16
shelves: to-read
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]]> Under the Bridge 43258143 *Now a Hulu limited series starring Lily Gladstone, Riley Keough, and Archie Panjabi!*


“A swift, harrowing classic perfect for these unnerving times.� —Jenny Offill, author of Dept. of Speculation


One moonlit night, fourteen-year-old Reena Virk went to join friends at a party and never returned home.


In this “tour de force of crime reportage� (Kirkus Reviews), acclaimed author Rebecca Godfrey takes us into the hidden world of the seven teenage girls—and boy—accused of a savage murder. As she follows the investigation and trials, Godfrey reveals the startling truth about the unlikely killers. Laced with lyricism and insight, Under the Bridge is an unforgettable look at a haunting modern tragedy.

]]> 480 Rebecca Godfrey 1982123184 Simon 0 to-read 3.73 2005 Under the Bridge
author: Rebecca Godfrey
name: Simon
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2005
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/16
shelves: to-read
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]]> The Crow 34623120 The Crow.

When James O’Barr poured the pain and anguish of a personal tragedy into the drawings that comprise The Crow, his intensely cathartic story of Eric—who returns from the dead to avenge his and his fiancée’s murder at the hands of a street gang—resonated with readers around the world. The illustrated tale that became the “thrilling� (Los Angeles Daily News) and “spectacular� (Chicago Tribune) silver screen triumph was then presented in 2011 as an acclaimed expanded edition, reflecting the vision of the author's original intention, complete at last with thirty pages of additional artwork, an introduction by James O’Barr, and lost sequences restored using the artist’s original technique.

Now this special hardcover release of the 2011 edition continues the legacy of The Crow as the powerful journey of an avenging angel and a celebration of true love…as fierce, intelligent, and unforgettable as when it was first conceived.]]> 272 James O'Barr 1501176994 Simon 0 to-read 4.35 1989 The Crow
author: James O'Barr
name: Simon
average rating: 4.35
book published: 1989
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/10/16
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]]> <![CDATA[One Life: The True Story of Sir Nicholas Winton]]> 198579960 The book that inspired major motion picture ONE LIFE, starring Sir Anthony Hopkins and Helena Bonham Carter.

'Remarkable' - Guardian

Sir Nicholas Winton rescued 669 children from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia at the brink of World War II. Most never saw their parents again; nearly all left behind were murdered. This is his story.

In 1938, 29-year-old 'Nicky' cancelled a ski holiday and instead spent nine months masterminding a seemingly impossible plan to rescue hundreds of Jewish children and find them homes in the UK. Over 6,000 people are alive today because of his efforts.

What motivated an ordinary man to do something so extraordinary? This book, written by his daughter, Barbara, explores the 106-year life of an incredible humanitarian, a man whose legacy only came to public light decades later.

His life story is a clarion call to choose action over apathy in the face of injustice, and a reminder that every one of us can change the world.

'If something is not impossible, then there must be a way to do it.'

'Those of us who came on a Kindertransport from Prague and owe our lives to Nicky will be so grateful to Barbara for writing something so special' - Lord Alf Dubs, ex-Labour minister and 'rescued child'

[This book was first published in 2014 as If It's Not Impossible... The Life of Sir Nicholas Winton]]]> 318 Barbara Winton 1472148657 Simon 0 to-read 3.69 2014 One Life: The True Story of Sir Nicholas Winton
author: Barbara Winton
name: Simon
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2014
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/10/16
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]]> <![CDATA[The Perfect Couple (Nantucket, #3)]]> 34840184
But it's going to be memorable for all the wrong reasons after tragedy strikes: a body is discovered in Nantucket Harbor just hours before the ceremony-and everyone in the wedding party is suddenly a suspect. As Chief of Police Ed Kapenash interviews the bride, the groom, the groom's famous mystery-novelist mother, and even a member of his own family, he discovers that every wedding is a minefield-and no couple is perfect. Featuring beloved characters from The Castaways, Beautiful Day, and A Summer Affair, The Perfect Couple proves once again that Elin Hilderbrand is the queen of the summer beach read.]]> 480 Elin Hilderbrand 0316375241 Simon 0 to-read 3.93 2018 The Perfect Couple (Nantucket, #3)
author: Elin Hilderbrand
name: Simon
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2018
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/10/16
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]]> We Were the Lucky Ones 59046537 The New York Times bestseller with more than 1 million copies sold worldwide | Now a Hulu limited series starring Joey King and Logan Lerman

Inspired by the incredible true story of one Jewish family separated at the start of World War II, determined to survive—and to reunite—We Were the Lucky Ones is a tribute to the triumph of hope and love against all odds

“Love in the face of global adversity? It couldn't be more timely.� —Glamour

It is the spring of 1939 and three generations of the Kurc family are doing their best to live normal lives, even as the shadow of war grows closer. The talk around the family Seder table is of new babies and budding romance, not of the increasing hardships threatening Jews in their hometown of Radom, Poland. But soon the horrors overtaking Europe will become inescapable and the Kurcs will be flung to the far corners of the world, each desperately trying to navigate his or her own path to safety.

As one sibling is forced into exile, another attempts to flee the continent, while others struggle to escape certain death, either by working grueling hours on empty stomachs in the factories of the ghetto or by hiding as gentiles in plain sight. Driven by an unwavering will to survive and by the fear that they may never see one another again, the Kurcs must rely on hope, ingenuity, and inner strength to persevere.

An extraordinary, propulsive novel, We Were the Lucky Ones demonstrates how in the face of the twentieth century’s darkest moment, the human spirit can endure and even thrive.]]> 414 Georgia Hunter Simon 0 to-read 4.56 2017 We Were the Lucky Ones
author: Georgia Hunter
name: Simon
average rating: 4.56
book published: 2017
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/10/16
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[The Watchers (The Watchers, #1)]]> 58321103
Mina finds herself in a room with a wall of glass, and an electric light that activates at nightfall, when the Watchers come above ground. These creatures emerge to observe their captive humans—and terrible things happen to anyone who doesn't reach the bunker in time.

Afraid and trapped among strangers, Mina is desperate for answers. Who are the Watchers? Why are these creatures keeping them imprisoned? And, most importantly, how can she escape?]]> 310 A.M. Shine 1801102120 Simon 0 to-read 3.82 2021 The Watchers (The Watchers, #1)
author: A.M. Shine
name: Simon
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/16
shelves: to-read
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]]> Dark Matter 205181201 A mindbending, relentlessly surprising thriller from the author of the bestselling Wayward Pines trilogy.

Jason Dessen is walking home through the chilly Chicago streets one night, looking forward to a quiet evening in front of the fireplace with his wife, Daniela, and their son, Charlie—when his reality shatters.

"Are you happy with your life?"

Those are the last words Jason Dessen hears before the masked abductor knocks him unconscious.

Before he awakens to find himself strapped to a gurney, surrounded by strangers in hazmat suits.

Before a man Jason's never met smiles down at him and says, "Welcome back, my friend."

In this world he's woken up to, Jason's life is not the one he knows. His wife is not his wife. His son was never born. And Jason is not an ordinary college physics professor, but a celebrated genius who has achieved something remarkable. Something impossible.

Is it this world or the other that's the dream?

And even if the home he remembers is real, how can Jason possibly make it back to the family he loves? The answers lie in a journey more wondrous and horrifying than anything he could've imagined—one that will force him to confront the darkest parts of himself even as he battles a terrifying, seemingly unbeatable foe.

Dark Matter is a brilliantly plotted tale that is at once sweeping and intimate, mind-bendingly strange and profoundly human--a relentlessly surprising science-fiction thriller about choices, paths not taken, and how far we'll go to claim the lives we dream of.]]> 368 Blake Crouch 0593875737 Simon 0 to-read 4.06 2016 Dark Matter
author: Blake Crouch
name: Simon
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2016
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/10/16
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[The Life and Time of Lonny Quicke]]> 55814845
A brilliant novel from the author of The Middler about family, secrets and a terrible power.]]> 272 Kirsty Applebaum 1788005244 Simon 0 to-read 4.03 2021 The Life and Time of Lonny Quicke
author: Kirsty Applebaum
name: Simon
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2021
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/10/16
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[Fortune Favours the Brave: 76 Short Lessons on Finding Strength in Vulnerability]]> 213838773 288 Joshua Patterson 0241682541 Simon 3 3.64 Fortune Favours the Brave: 76 Short Lessons on Finding Strength in Vulnerability
author: Joshua Patterson
name: Simon
average rating: 3.64
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2024/10/15
date added: 2024/10/15
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]]> The Racket 204744031 'As elegant and powerful as a Federer backhand ... It’s Kitchen Confidential for tennis.' Ed Caesar

'A really wonderful read ... Conor Niland has delivered an all-timer for tennis and sports journalism' Ashlee Vance

'Conor Niland may only have managed a career-high ranking of 129 � only? that is some achievement in itself! � but The Racket, his account of how he managed this, is up there with the best half-dozen books on tennis ever written.' Geoff Dyer

'I ate this book up ... reveals the sacrifices, commitment and decidedly unglamorous side of life on the tennis circuit' Sinead Moriarty

When Conor Niland was 16, he got the chance to hit with Serena Williams at Nick Bollettieri's famed tennis academy. Conor, the Irish junior number one, was feeling a bit homesick. Serena, also 16, already owned her own house beside the academy.

Conor Niland knows what it's like when Roger Federer walks into the dressing room ('Ciao, bonjour, hello!'), and he has had the exquisitely terrible experience of facing Novak Djokovic in the world's biggest tennis stadium - while suffering from food poisoning. But he never reached the very top.

The Racket is the story of pro tennis's 99%: the players who roam the globe in hope of climbing the rankings and squeaking into the Grand Slam tournaments. It brings us into a world where a few dozen super-rich players - travelling with coaches and physios - share a stage with lonely touring pros whose earnings barely cover their expenses. Painting a vivid picture of the social dynamics on tour, the economics of the game, and the shadows cast by gambling and doping, The Racket is a witty and revealing underdog's memoir and a unique look inside a fascinating hidden world.]]> 305 Conor Niland 1844886425 Simon 3 4.26 The Racket
author: Conor Niland
name: Simon
average rating: 4.26
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2024/10/13
date added: 2024/10/13
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]]> War Horse (War Horse, #1) 792161
In 1914, Joey, a beautiful bay-red foal with a distinctive cross on his nose, is sold to the army and thrust into the midst of the war on the Western Front. With his officer, he charges toward the enemy, witnessing the horror of the battles in France. But even in the desolation of the trenches, Joey's courage touches the soldiers around him and he is able to find warmth and hope. But his heart aches for Albert, the farmer's son he left behind. Will he ever see his true master again?]]> 165 Michael Morpurgo 0439796636 Simon 5 4.13 1982 War Horse (War Horse, #1)
author: Michael Morpurgo
name: Simon
average rating: 4.13
book published: 1982
rating: 5
read at: 2024/10/09
date added: 2024/10/09
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]]> Too Late 127555313
Sloan will go through hell and back for those she loves. And she does so, every single day. Caught up with the alluring Asa Jackson, a notorious drug trafficker, Sloan has finally found a lifeline to cling to, even if it’s meant compromising her morals. She was in dire straits trying to pay for her brother’s care until she met Asa. But as Sloan became emotionally and economically reliant on him, he in turn developed a disturbing obsession with her—one that becomes increasingly dangerous every day.

When undercover DEA agent Carter enters the picture, Sloan’s surprised to feel an immediate attraction between them, despite knowing that if Asa finds out, he will kill him. And Asa has always been a step ahead of everyone in his life, including Sloan. No one has ever gotten in his way.

No one except Carter.

Together, Sloan and Carter must find a way out before it’s too late…]]> 370 Colleen Hoover 1538756617 Simon 4 4.06 2016 Too Late
author: Colleen Hoover
name: Simon
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/09
date added: 2024/10/09
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]]> Everything I Know About Love 46041465
When it comes to the trials and triumphs of becoming an adult, journalist and former Sunday Times columnist Dolly Alderton has seen and tried it all. In her memoir, she vividly recounts falling in love, finding a job, getting drunk, getting dumped, realizing that Ivan from the corner shop might just be the only reliable man in her life, and that absolutely no one can ever compare to her best girlfriends. Everything I Know About Love is about bad dates, good friends and—above all else� realizing that you are enough.

Glittering with wit and insight, heart and humor, Dolly Alderton’s unforgettable debut weaves together personal stories, satirical observations, a series of lists, recipes, and other vignettes that will strike a chord of recognition with women of every age—making you want to pick up the phone and tell your best friends all about it. Like Bridget Jones� Diary but all true, Everything I Know About Love is about the struggles of early adulthood in all its terrifying and hopeful uncertainty.]]> 368 Dolly Alderton 0062968785 Simon 3 3.97 2018 Everything I Know About Love
author: Dolly Alderton
name: Simon
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2018
rating: 3
read at: 2024/10/04
date added: 2024/10/04
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]]> <![CDATA[The Stranger on the Bridge: My Journey from Despair to Hope]]> 39685551 224 Jonny Benjamin 1509846425 Simon 0 to-read 4.04 2018 The Stranger on the Bridge: My Journey from Despair to Hope
author: Jonny Benjamin
name: Simon
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2018
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/10/01
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[Somebody Told Me: One Man’s Unexpected Journey Down the Rabbit Hole of Lies, Trolls and Conspiracies]]> 203109890
Danny Wallace, million-copy bestselling author of Yes Man and Join Me, has fallen down the modern rabbit hole of lies, conspiracies and disinformation. Along the way, he encounters families torn apart by accusations and fake news, journalists putting themselves on the frontline of the disinformation war, reformed conspiracy theorists, influencers who see profit in stoking paranoia, and the shadowy nameless, faceless trolls on the other side of our screens. He discovers how disinformation and well-told lies can ruin a year or a whole life, how they can affect our family, our street, our community. How they can spread across a country, a continent, even the world. How they take hold of our imaginations and make us feel both helpless and powerful.

And Danny, can you do anything to stop it � even with the truth on your side?]]> 338 Danny Wallace 1529938171 Simon 3 4.02 2024 Somebody Told Me: One Man’s Unexpected Journey Down the Rabbit Hole of Lies, Trolls and Conspiracies
author: Danny Wallace
name: Simon
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/10/01
date added: 2024/10/01
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]]> An Inspector Calls 900682 Excellent Book 117 J.B. Priestley 3150092183 Simon 3
A look into Priestley's thoughts on capitalism vs socialism with the role of Mr Birling and the Inspector.

Not a must read from a play point of view I do not think but certainly good for English teaching purposes.]]> 3.82 1945 An Inspector Calls
author: J.B. Priestley
name: Simon
average rating: 3.82
book published: 1945
rating: 3
read at: 2024/10/01
date added: 2024/10/01
shelves:
review:
Just finished re-reading this play with my Year 11 class. For all its critics, they genuinely made me appreciate it again.

A look into Priestley's thoughts on capitalism vs socialism with the role of Mr Birling and the Inspector.

Not a must read from a play point of view I do not think but certainly good for English teaching purposes.
]]> <![CDATA[Stay Where You Are and Then Leave]]> 18104749
Then, while shining shoes at King's Cross Station, Alfie unexpectedly sees his father's name - on a sheaf of papers belonging to a military doctor. Bewildered and confused, Alfie realises his father is in a hospital close by - a hospital treating soldiers with an unusual condition. Alfie is determined to rescue his father from this strange, unnerving place . . .]]> 247 John Boyne 0857532936 Simon 4 3.91 2013 Stay Where You Are and Then Leave
author: John Boyne
name: Simon
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/01
date added: 2024/10/01
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]]> Wild East 195607730 274 Ashley Hickson-Lovence 024164545X Simon 4 4.24 Wild East
author: Ashley Hickson-Lovence
name: Simon
average rating: 4.24
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/17
date added: 2024/09/17
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]]> Trash 7740772
One unlucky-lucky day, Raphael finds something very special and very mysterious. So mysterious that he decides to keep it, even when the city police offer a handsome reward for its return. That decision brings with it terrifying consequences, and soon the dumpsite boys must use all of their cunning and courage to stay ahead of their pursuers. It’s up to Raphael, Gardo, and Rat—boys who have no education, no parents, no homes, and no money—to solve the mystery and right a terrible wrong.

Andy Mulligan has written a powerful story about unthinkable poverty—and the kind of hope and determination that can transcend it. With twists and turns, unrelenting action, and deep, raw emotion, Trash is a heart-pounding, breath-holding novel.]]> 240 Andy Mulligan 0385752148 Simon 3 3.54 2010 Trash
author: Andy Mulligan
name: Simon
average rating: 3.54
book published: 2010
rating: 3
read at: 2024/09/12
date added: 2024/09/12
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]]> Yellowface 62047984
So what if June edits Athena’s novel and sends it to her agent as her own work? So what if she lets her new publisher rebrand her as Juniper Song—complete with an ambiguously ethnic author photo? This piece of history deserve to be told, whoever the teller. That is what June believes, and The New York Times bestseller list agrees.

But June cannot escape Athena’s shadow, and emerging evidence threatens her stolen success. As she races to protect her secret she discovers exactly how far she will go to keep what she thinks she deserves.]]> 319 R.F. Kuang 000853277X Simon 4 3.69 2023 Yellowface
author: R.F. Kuang
name: Simon
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/10
date added: 2024/09/10
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]]> <![CDATA[The Secret of the Moonshard: A magical fantasy adventure for 9-12 year olds]]> 175407063 'Sensational storytelling' - AF Steadman, author of Skandar and the Unicorn Thief.

The gripping new magical adventure from Branford Boase winner Struan Murray.

Domino has lived her whole life believing that just one drop of magic could kill her.

Held in a floating laboratory by scheming Science Barons, she has never known a single day of freedom.

When Domino discovers that everything she's been told by the Barons is a lie, she escapes to Abzalaymon, a wondrous city filled with scientific marvels, hulking thunder lizards and hidden magic.

But the Barons are soon on Domino's trail. Because a war is brewing between science and magic. A war that could destroy the world. And Domino might just be the key to saving everyone . . .

'Thrilling' Guardian]]> 455 Struan Murray 0241535581 Simon 2 4.23 The Secret of the Moonshard: A magical fantasy adventure for 9-12 year olds
author: Struan Murray
name: Simon
average rating: 4.23
book published:
rating: 2
read at: 2024/09/06
date added: 2024/09/06
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]]> <![CDATA[The New Recruit (Liam Scott, #1)]]> 17120560
You try to forget and move on; you enrol in Army training, you want to make something of your life. The training is tough and it almost breaks you. But you survive; you know you'll make a good soldier.

Finally, when you're out in Afghanistan, under enemy fire, you come face-to-face with your best friend's brother. He still blames you for his brother's death. You now have more to fear than just enemy soldiers . . .]]> 272 Andy McNab 0857531751 Simon 3 3.91 2012 The New Recruit (Liam Scott, #1)
author: Andy McNab
name: Simon
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at: 2024/09/06
date added: 2024/09/06
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]]> Our Fight: A Memoir 195820798
From the moment she burst onto the MMA scene, Ronda Rousey was unbeatable. She repeatedly strung together back-to-back flawless victories, racking up a collection of records and forever changing the face of sports as the UFC’s first female champion. A superstar in her sport, she transcended athletics, appearing in blockbuster films and becoming a role model for women everywhere. Then, on November 15, 2015, it all came crashing down. 

In OUR FIGHT, Rousey explores the greatest challenge of her life and, ultimately, how she rebuilt her career into something better in the aftermath. She recounts how she replaced her  pursuit of perfection with the pursuit of happiness and found a blessing in disguise amongst the wreckage. Following Rousey’s relatable journey, OUR FIGHT is a courageous narrative of career changes, marriage, motherhood, and facing your fears.
ձ> 288 Ronda Rousey 1538757370 Simon 3 3.91 Our Fight: A Memoir
author: Ronda Rousey
name: Simon
average rating: 3.91
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2024/09/02
date added: 2024/09/02
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]]> <![CDATA[Never Go Back (Jack Reacher, #18)]]> 17262159 Why? He wants to meet the new commanding officer, Major Susan Turner. He liked her voice on the phone. But the officer sitting behind Reacher’s old desk isn't a woman. Why is Susan Turner not there?

What Reacher doesn’t expect is what comes next. He himself is in big trouble, accused of a sixteen-year-old homicide. And he certainly doesn't expect to hear these words: ‘You’re back in the army, Major. And your ass is mine.�

Will he be sorry he went back? Or � will someone else?

]]> 400 Lee Child 0385344341 Simon 3 4.01 2013 Never Go Back (Jack Reacher, #18)
author: Lee Child
name: Simon
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2013
rating: 3
read at: 2024/08/23
date added: 2024/08/23
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]]> <![CDATA[Hide and Seek (Helen Grace, #6)]]> 29430031 Prison is no place for a detective
Helen Grace was one of the country's best police investigators.
Now she's behind bars with the killers she caught.

Framed for murder
She knows there is only way out:
stay alive until her trial and somehow prove her innocence.

Locked up with a killer
But when a mutilated body is found in the cell next door,
Helen fears her days are numbered.

A murderer is on the loose.
And she must find them.
Before she's next . . .]]> 368 M.J. Arlidge 0718183843 Simon 4 4.24 2016 Hide and Seek (Helen Grace, #6)
author: M.J. Arlidge
name: Simon
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/08/19
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[The Family Remains (The Family Upstairs, #2)]]> 58855185 From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Jewell comes an intricate and affecting novel about twisted marriages, fractured families, and deadly obsessions in this standalone sequel to The Family Upstairs.

Early one morning on the shore of the Thames, DCI Samuel Owusu is called to the scene of a gruesome discovery. When Owusu sends the evidence for examination, he learns the bones are connected to a cold case that left three people dead on the kitchen floor in a Chelsea mansion thirty years ago.

Rachel Rimmer has also received a shock—news that her husband, Michael, has been found dead in the cellar of his house in France. All signs point to an intruder, and the French police need her to come urgently to answer questions about Michael and his past that she very much doesn’t want to answer.

After fleeing London thirty years ago in the wake of a horrific tragedy, Lucy Lamb is finally coming home. While she settles in with her children and is just about to purchase their first-ever house, her brother takes off to find the boy from their shared past whose memory haunts their present.

As they all race to discover answers to these convoluted mysteries, they will come to find that they’re connected in ways they could have never imagined.

In this masterful standalone sequel to her haunting New York Times bestseller, The Family Upstairs, Lisa Jewell proves she is writing at the height of her powers with another jaw-dropping, intricate, and affecting novel about the lengths we will go to protect the ones we love and uncover the truth.]]> 452 Lisa Jewell 1982178892 Simon 3 3.82 2022 The Family Remains (The Family Upstairs, #2)
author: Lisa Jewell
name: Simon
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2024/08/09
date added: 2024/08/09
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]]> <![CDATA[How I Became a Dog Called Midnight]]> 59126074 A boy, a dog, and a magical body-swap adventure! Enter a world of wonder in this classic adventure from top-ten bestselling children's author, Ben Miller. 

George has always wondered what it's like to be a dog.  One night, a magical mix-up with an enchanted fountain means he swaps places with Midnight, a huge and loveable hound!  Becoming a dog is an amazing adventure, until George uncovers a plan that could threaten Midnight's home.  Can the two friends save the day before the clock strikes twelve and leaves them stuck in each other's bodies forever?

A magical race-against-time for a boy and his dog best friend � discover the funny and heartwarming classic storytelling from bestselling author and beloved actor, Ben Miller.]]> 320 Ben Miller 1471192482 Simon 3 4.14 How I Became a Dog Called Midnight
author: Ben Miller
name: Simon
average rating: 4.14
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2024/08/09
date added: 2024/08/09
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]]> The Fury 123206645 A masterfully paced thriller about a reclusive ex–movie star and her famous friends whose spontaneous trip to a private Greek island is upended by a murder � from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Silent Patient.

This is a tale of murder.

Or maybe that’s not quite true. At its heart, it’s a love story, isn’t it?

Lana Farrar is a reclusive ex–movie star and one of the most famous women in the world. Every year, she invites her closest friends to escape the English weather and spend Easter on her idyllic private Greek island.

I tell you this because you may think you know this story. You probably read about it at the time � it caused a real stir in the tabloids, if you remember. It had all the necessary ingredients for a press a celebrity; a private island cut off by the wind…and a murder.

We found ourselves trapped there overnight. Our old friendships concealed hatred and a desire for revenge. What followed was a game of cat and mouse � a battle of wits, full of twists and turns, building to an unforgettable climax. The night ended in violence and death, as one of us was found murdered.

But who am I?

My name is Elliot Chase, and I’m going to tell you a story unlike any you’ve ever heard.]]> 298 Alex Michaelides 125075898X Simon 3 3.34 2024 The Fury
author: Alex Michaelides
name: Simon
average rating: 3.34
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/08/09
date added: 2024/08/09
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]]> <![CDATA[Everybody Has a Plan Until They Get Punched in the Face: 12 Things Boxing Teaches You About Life, from the I'm A Celeb star]]> 58027442 THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER'Tony is a champion who knows the hardest battle is always with yourself. Everyone who reads this book will find a change to make in their own life ' ANT MIDDLETON**THE PULL-NO-PUNCHES GUIDE TO LIFE**"When your job is to stand in front of a very big man who wants to knock you unconscious, you learn what's important in life. In the ring there's nowhere to hide. I was never the biggest or the strongest but I made the most of what I had - I had heart and I had grit and I always put time into the mental game. Now I want to take readers into the ring and help them understand that even though it's an extreme environment and somewhere they're unlikely to ever be, there's plenty they can learn there"Over 12 rounds (chapters), former world champion boxer Tony Bellew will take the reader inside the world of elite boxing to reveal what we can all learn about performance. From what the boxing gym can teach us all about being honest about our strengths and weaknesses to how to hit the canvas and get back up again, this is the closest thing to having a world champion boxer in your corner.]]> 251 Tony Bellew 1841884723 Simon 3 4.03 Everybody Has a Plan Until They Get Punched in the Face: 12 Things Boxing Teaches You About Life, from the I'm A Celeb star
author: Tony Bellew
name: Simon
average rating: 4.03
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2024/07/08
date added: 2024/07/08
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]]> <![CDATA[The Second Story (The Magic Misfits, #2)]]> 37912471
Join the Magic Misfits as they discover adventure, friendship, and more than a few hidden secrets in this delightful new series. Whether you're a new fan of stage magic or a longtime expert at illusion, Magic Misfits is sure to delight even more than sawing your assistant in half!

... have more questions? I thought you might. Here are some answers:

WHERE? A sleepy town in New England and the magic shop there, run by the friendly but mysterious Dante Vernon—the gang's caped and top-hatted mentor.

WHO? Carter, who makes cards and coins vanish. Leila, who escapes from trunks and straitjackets. Theo, who levitates with the aid of his violin bow. Ridley, who invents and transforms everyday objects. And of course twins Olly and Izzy, who make everyone laugh.

WHY? Because together, these six Magical Misfits will discover adventure, friendship, and the town's long-hidden secrets.

(Psst. Hey, you! Yes, YOU! Congratulations on reading this far down. As a reward, I'll let you in on a little secret.... This book isn't just a book. It's a treasure trove of secrets and ciphers and codes and even tricks. Keep your eyes peeled and you'll discover more than just a story—you'll learn how to make your own magic!)]]> 336 Neil Patrick Harris 0316391859 Simon 3 4.15 2018 The Second Story (The Magic Misfits, #2)
author: Neil Patrick Harris
name: Simon
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2018
rating: 3
read at: 2024/07/01
date added: 2024/07/01
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Wanted Man (Jack Reacher, #17)]]> 13359067
An hour behind them, a man lies stabbed to death in an old pumping station. He was seen going in with two others, but he never came out. He has been executed, the knife work professional, the killers vanished. Within minutes, the police are notified. Within hours, the FBI descends, laying claim to the victim without ever saying who he was or why he was there.

All Reacher wanted was a ride to Virginia. All he did was stick out his thumb. But he soon discovers he has hitched more than a ride. He has tied himself to a massive conspiracy that makes him a threat - to both sides at once.

14 hr., 30 min]]> 15 Lee Child 0307749606 Simon 3 3.99 2012 A Wanted Man (Jack Reacher, #17)
author: Lee Child
name: Simon
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at: 2024/07/01
date added: 2024/07/01
shelves:
review:

]]> Fight Club 5759 218 Chuck Palahniuk 0393327345 Simon 4 4.19 1996 Fight Club
author: Chuck Palahniuk
name: Simon
average rating: 4.19
book published: 1996
rating: 4
read at: 2024/06/26
date added: 2024/06/26
shelves:
review:

]]> Life In Pieces 54566748
From reflections on grief and identity, bad hair and parenting, sleep and spirituality, to the things we can control and the things we cannot, Dawn’s daily diaries track the journey � for a hilarious, heartbreaking and highly entertaining glimpse into the new normal.

LIFE IN PIECES is a book for anyone who’s been thrown into a life they didn’t plan, or who just wants to stick it to 2020. When it looks like everything’s falling apart, we’ll piece it back together.

Love Dawn x]]> 352 Dawn O'Porter Simon 4 3.82 2020 Life In Pieces
author: Dawn O'Porter
name: Simon
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2024/06/19
date added: 2024/06/19
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Fate of Ten (Lorien Legacies, #6)]]> 24488476 New York Times bestselling I Am Number Four series! For years the Garde have fought the Mogadorians in secret. Now all of that has changed. The invasion has begun. If the Garde can't find a way to stop the Mogs, humanity will suffer the same fate as the Lorien: annihilation.

There is still hope. When the Elders sent the Garde to Earth, they had a plan—one which the Garde are finally starting to understand. In the climax of The Revenge of Seven, a group of the Garde traveled to an ancient pyramid in Mexico known to their people as the Sanctuary. There they awoke a power that had been hidden within our planet for generations. Now this power can save the world . . . or destroy it. It will all depend on who wields it.]]> 409 Pittacus Lore Simon 3 4.28 2015 The Fate of Ten (Lorien Legacies, #6)
author: Pittacus Lore
name: Simon
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2015
rating: 3
read at: 2024/06/18
date added: 2024/06/18
shelves:
review:

]]> Queen Macbeth 205744339 Shakespeare fed us the myth of the Macbeths as murderous conspirators. But now Val McDermid drags the truth out of the shadows, exposing the patriarchal prejudices of history. Expect the unexpected . . .

A thousand years ago in an ancient Scottish landscape, a woman is on the run with her three companions � a healer, a weaver and a seer. The men hunting her will kill her � because she is the only one who stands between them and their violent ambition. She is no she is the first queen of Scotland, married to a king called Macbeth.

As the net closes in, we discover a tale of passion, forced marriage, bloody massacre and the harsh realities of medieval Scotland. At the heart of it is one strong, charismatic woman, who survived loss and jeopardy to outwit the endless plotting of a string of ruthless and power-hungry men. Her struggle won her a country. But now it could cost her life.]]> 122 Val McDermid 1788856724 Simon 3 3.67 2024 Queen Macbeth
author: Val McDermid
name: Simon
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/06/10
date added: 2024/06/10
shelves:
review:

]]> The Enemy (The Enemy, #1) 8540357 The Enemy is the first in a jaw-dropping zombie horror series for teens. Everyone over the age of fourteen has succumbed to a deadly zombie virus and now the kids must keep themselves alive.

When the sickness came, every parent, police officer, politician - every adult fell ill. The lucky ones died. The others are crazed, confused and hungry.

Only children under fourteen remain, and they're fighting to survive.

Now there are rumours of a safe place to hide. And so a gang of children begin their quest across London, where all through the city - down alleyways, in deserted houses, underground - the grown-ups lie in wait.

But can they make it there - alive?

This edition contains the first chapter of the second book The Dead.]]> 407 Charlie Higson 0141325011 Simon 2 4.16 2009 The Enemy (The Enemy, #1)
author: Charlie Higson
name: Simon
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2009
rating: 2
read at: 2024/06/07
date added: 2024/06/07
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Art of Winning: Ten Lessons in Leadership, Purpose and Potential]]> 137242014 **Instant Sunday Times bestseller**

Ten timeless truths on leadership, purpose and potential - from the unique culture of the All Blacks, and the mind of a living legend.

You might think success at the highest level insulates you from self-doubt.
But nothing could be further from the truth.

In this book, I take you inside a journey that has forced me to look inwardly in a way I've never had to before. It's been challenging, frustrating, rewarding and left me full of gratitude.

Whether you're a leader on a steep learning curve, a person navigating change in their life or just someone of any age trying to get that little bit better every day, I hope that my experience can spur you on to greater heights.

For the first time, sporting legend Dan Carter distils his two decades at the frontiers of high-performance into his 'perfect ten' lessons.

You won't find conventional wisdom here, but hard-learned truths,

- Why great leaders are made, not born, and why they must constantly evolve
- How to forge a winning team culture
- Why embracing your past can be every bit as important as looking towards your future
- Why empowering others leads to the best decisions
- Why confidence and self-belief are nothing without humility and a beginner's mindset

Honest, surprising and inspiring, The Art of Winning converts a legendary career into timeless lessons for readers in any walk of life. Step inside the unique culture of the All Blacks - and inside the mind of a legend.]]> 289 Dan Carter Simon 3 4.09 The Art of Winning: Ten Lessons in Leadership, Purpose and Potential
author: Dan Carter
name: Simon
average rating: 4.09
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2024/06/07
date added: 2024/06/07
shelves:
review:

]]> Water 195100472
But scandals follow like hunting dogs. And she has some questions of her own to answer. If her ex-husband is really the monster everyone says he is, then how complicit was she in his crimes?

Escaping her old life might seem like a good idea but the choices she has made throughout her marriage have consequences. Here, on the island, Vanessa must reflect on what she did - and did not do. Only then can she discover whether she is worthy of finding peace at all.]]> 176 John Boyne 0857529811 Simon 4 4.29 2023 Water
author: John Boyne
name: Simon
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/05/27
date added: 2024/05/27
shelves:
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]]> The Street Lawyer 5351
But a violent encounter with a homeless man stopped him cold. Michael survived; his assailant did not. Who was this man? Michael did some digging, and learned that he was a mentally ill veteran who'd been in and out of shelters for many years. Then Michael dug a little deeper, and found a dirty secret, and the secret involved Drake & Sweeney.

The fast track derailed; the ladder collapsed. Michael bolted the firm and took a top-secret file with him. He landed in the streets, an advocate for the homeless, a street lawyer.

And a thief.]]> 384 John Grisham 0385339097 Simon 3 3.87 1998 The Street Lawyer
author: John Grisham
name: Simon
average rating: 3.87
book published: 1998
rating: 3
read at: 2024/05/24
date added: 2024/05/24
shelves:
review:

]]> Prodigy (Legend, #2) 16287469 522 Marie Lu 1410455122 Simon 3 4.13 2013 Prodigy (Legend, #2)
author: Marie Lu
name: Simon
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2013
rating: 3
read at: 2024/05/21
date added: 2024/05/21
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Magic Misfits (The Magic Misfits, #1)]]> 28107444 From award-winning actor, Neil Patrick Harris, comes the magical first book in a new series with plenty of tricks up its sleeve.

When street magician Carter runs away, he never expects to find friends and magic in a sleepy New England town. But like any good trick, things change instantly as greedy B.B. Bosso and his crew of crooked carnies arrive to steal anything and everything they can get their sticky fingers on.

After a fateful encounter with the local purveyor of illusion, Dante Vernon, Carter teams up with five other like-minded illusionists. Together, using both teamwork and magic, they'll set out to save the town of Mineral Wells from Bosso's villainous clutches. These six Magic Misfits will soon discover adventure, friendship, and their own self-worth in this delightful new series.

(Psst. Hey, you! Yes, you! Congratulations on reading this far. As a reward, I'll let you in on a little secret... This book isn't just a book. It's a treasure trove of secrets and ciphers and codes and even tricks. Keep your eyes peeled and you'll discover more than just a story--you'll learn how to make your own magic!)]]> 256 Neil Patrick Harris 0316355585 Simon 4 4.00 2017 The Magic Misfits (The Magic Misfits, #1)
author: Neil Patrick Harris
name: Simon
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2024/05/17
date added: 2024/05/17
shelves:
review:

]]>